Australia will provide more support for Ukraine as the defence minister attends a key NATO summit in Washington.
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The next tranche of support for Ukraine is set to be announced by Defence Minister Richard Marles as he meets with counterparts to discuss Russia's invasion and security in the Indo-Pacific.
Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite belled the cat on the new package ahead of its announcement, saying Australia would extend its efforts to help Ukraine repel Russia.
"Australia's been a great contributor, and will continue that contribution for as long as it's needed," he told ABC radio on Wednesday.
That Australia was invited to the summit underscored that the primarily US-European alliance was also focused on the Pacific, he said.
"NATO is not just concentrating on the North Atlantic, but they're looking to our region as well, and they see that as an important part of ongoing stability and security for the world economy," he said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham called for the government to further integrate Australia into NATO to tighten security ties.
"Australia should be there, not just to attend, but with a plan for how we make NATO a more central partner in our regional security and in the peace we want for our region," he said.
"That should be us asking NATO to develop its own Indo-Pacific strategy and seeking to formalise the ties between the so-called Indo-Pacific four nations and NATO so that we aren't just invited each year, but we're embedded as part of these critical security talks."
The Indo-Pacific four include Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, who have all sent delegations to Washington.
Ahead of the three-day summit, Mr Marles said Australia deeply valued its partnership with NATO.
"Our connection with NATO has never been more important," he told reporters in Washington.
"We see that the world is much more connected place, Ukraine puts that into stark relief, and the significance of that conflict on the Indo-Pacific."
Anxieties over the war in Ukraine have reignited after Russian troops bombed a children's hospital in Kyiv on Monday.
Top politicians including Mr Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have condemned the attack and Mr Marles is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the summit.
"We obviously want to understand how the war in Ukraine is being prosecuted, how we can support, what implications that has for our region and we also want to look at ways in which we can co-operate with NATO more," Mr Marles said.
Mr Albanese was expected to attend the summit but deferred to his second-in-command to focus on domestic matters.
It was a move that has been criticised by the opposition but defended by the assistant minister.
"The focus of this one is very much on defence, so that's why you've got the defence minister here representing Australia," Mr Thistlethwaite said.
Australian Associated Press
